Mia & I are excited to offer ocean passages aboard our classic S&S Swan 48 Isbjörn. Come along for a once-in-a-lifetime adventure & exploration experience crossing an ocean & discovering the lure of the open sea, all aboard a beautiful, classic & safe ocean-sailing machine. Why? Because life is short, and time slows down out there.

Quite simply, we aim to share the infinite wisdom of the high seas with those wise enough to seek it out. And I'm still learning every time I go out there. We've sailed tens of thousands of bluewater miles in our boats and others', and yet the magic of a night watch at sea remains as strong as ever. We want to share that magic with you. Join us, and find out for yourself.

Track Isbjorn

Track Isbjorn

Track Isbjörn

The map below defaults to show Isbjorn's current or upcoming expedition. Click the blue drop-down menu at the top of the map to choose the expedition you'd like to see positions for. Past expeditions are also saved here. Enjoy!

Isbjorn is back in Annapolis after her first two successful voyages. A total of 1,629 miles sailed over 11 days, 3 ½ hours at sea. Feels good to be home in Pennsylvania, but I already miss the high seas! Enjoy the final post from Leg 2, and scroll to the bottom for a selection of photos.

My dad decided to join us at the last minute. As I write, I'm back, yet again, at the Sweet Indulgence Cafe in Lunenburg, waiting for him to arrive by taxi from the airport. Isbjörn is on anchor in the harbor, with Mia and Rachel aboard just chilling out. Matt is somewhere in town doing a last-minute wander.

We're just hours from departing Lunenburg now for the return passage to Annapolis, and Tropical Storm Claudette is making me re-think our departure plans. Matt, one of our crew, went to the Fisheries Museum this morning, and it's all the tour guide was talking about. I had seen a small depression on the GRIBS yesterday, but apparently sometime this morning it officially got a name.

I'm still sitting in the Sweet Indulgence Cafe in Lunenburg, and just met Rachel, one of our new crew for the next leg. Feels weird to have such a quick turnaround, but that's the nature of it I guess!

Of course one of the greatest things about ocean voyaging is exploring your landfall! My dad and I used to wonder, especially after particularly challenging passages, if we did it for the sailing, or did it for the payoff at the other end. I’m still not sure there is a clear answer to that. It’s obvious a bit of both, and the challenge of getting to that far-off land under your own effort over such a comparatively long time is what makes it so cool, and so unique in our modern time. The average air traveler will never have any concept of how large the world actually is. We ocean sailors know better.

I love sailing into a harbor, especially at night. Moitessier once wrote that he prefers sailing into a harbor at night because nobody is watching, and you don’t have to worry about folks thinking you’re showing off. Sometimes you are, of course, but to me, it’s more about the joy and challenge of coming in under sail than anything else.

Sailing from the hot & humid Chesapeake northeast past New England & on towards Canada has been exceptionally exciting in terms of the changing weather and the cooling water temps. We're at sea now for almost five days. You could fly the route in a few hours, but experiencing the gradual change in climate as we cruise along at a jogging pace is what truly makes ocean voyaging a special thing. It really IS a long way from home when you realize how much the weather's changed and watch it do so gradually. We're not in Kansas anymore.

After the rescue, we continued motor boating for nearly the next 24 hours. Unlike the previous week on the DelMarVa rally, where we scooted out the Canal and down the Bay at a cool 8 knots, riding a fair tide the whole way, we bucked the tide this time, making only 4-4.5 knots under power nearly all the way to Cape May. When we did finally get within site of the ocean itself, the wind was on the nose and light.

We took turns at the pump as Someday’s owner Dennis searched in the bilge to find the leak. There was a good 3-4 feet of water sloshing around, but we kept ahead of it with the huge pump. Me, Sean and Mia took turns, while the rest of my crew kept the boats apart, and Sheila, Dennis’ wife, communicated with the USCG and Tow Boat/US.

This is the first in a multi-part blog series about Isbjorn's first offshore passage from Annapolis to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. There are loads of photos in the galleries at the end of each post. Start with this one, and follow along. Normally I do this from at-sea, but we forgot the email device for the sat phone! So here it is now, in one big dump. Some of this I wrote on the boat at-sea, some of it after we arrived. Enjoy! -Andy

Andy and the crew of Isbjörn have no email at sea so they won't be posting blogs while offshore. However, the Yellowbrick tracker can post to Facebook, so check there for brief updates now and then. Also, Isbjörn's position is updated every four hours at 59-north.com/tracking. - Rory

59º North

59º North

Andy Schell & Mia Karlsson

I met Mia backpacking in New Zealand in 2006, and we have been inseparable since. We got married in Sweden in 2011 and crossed the Atlantic in our yawl Arcturus a few weeks later. We have a house in Lancaster, PA and live on Arcturus in Sweden in the summertime, traveling and sailing in between.

We love ocean sailing, and are passionate about all aspects, from proper yacht design to sail selection for offshore sailing, yacht rigging, gear, safety equipment and more. I hold both USCG Master Mariner and RYA Yachtmaster Oceans credentials. I'm particularly conscious of rigging on ocean sailing yachts, having worked for a few years in Annapolis for Southbound Cruising Services, learning about all aspects of rigging and getting some awesome on-the-job experience. Having refitted two boats for ocean sailing (Arcturus and my dad's Wauquiez Hood 38 Sojourner), it's taught me a lot about systems and gear, and how to prioritize, optimize and simplify them for crossing oceans.

Mia, for her part, has had a steep learning curve. She wasn't a sailor before we met - in fact, she had never even been aboard a sailboat! That all changed quite quickly, with our first trip aboard a 28' sloop in the Marlboro Sounds on the South Island of New Zealand in 2006. Since then she's logged many thousands of ocean miles with and without me, including three Atlantic crossings (yes, that's one more than me!).

Our sailing adventures have taken us to the South Island of New Zealand, the Whitsunday Islands in Australia, the BVI to St. Martin to Trinidad and everywhere in between in the Eastern Caribbean, New England, Nova Scotia, St. Pierre, Bermuda, the Azores, Portugal, the Canary Islands, Ireland, Scotland, the North Sea, Sweden and Finland. With 2016's calendar just published for Isbjörn, that list is only going to get longer. In a few years' time, our ultimate goal is to make it way up north to Arctic Norway and beyond. Those who already know us might be surprised to learn about the new Swan...suffice it to say, that my ideas on ocean sailing are evolving (and yes, the Swan has a fridge! Two of them in fact...).

In addition to our sailing careers, Mia and I (mostly Mia!) manage the USA office of the World Cruising Club. We are the event managers for the Caribbean 1500, ARC USA and ARC DelMarVa rallies. We also work on the 'yellow shirt' team for the ARC and ARC Europe rallies.

Last but not least, I'm pretty involved in the sailing media, hosting my own podcast called, appropriately, 59º North, and writing on a freelance basis for SAIL Magazine, Yachting World, SpinSheet and others. You can check out some of my old articles in my published archive here (though it's now a few years out of date).

-Andy

Isbjörn Sailing: Expeditions on the High Seas

Join us on our increasing calendar of sailing expeditions and get a thorough introduction to ocean sailing aboard our S&S Swan 48Isbjörn. The classic sloop, built at the legendary Nautor yard in Finland, is recognized as one of the sweetest-sailing and safest ocean-sailing platforms available. While not specifically a sailing school, you'll learn how to stand night watches, navigate, and generally run and manage a boat on a long ocean passage under professional supervision. It's an incredibly fun adventure and a phenomenal life experience. We sail worldwide, offering a variety of opportunities from 500-mile hops in the Caribbean Sea, to full-on Atlantic crossings between the USA and Europe. Check the Sailing Passages calendar to see what's on offer.

Yacht Delivery

Andy & Mia have been delivering yachts together since 2007. We'll bring your boat back in better condition than you left it, in a timely fashion and for a reasonable fee. We also specialize in owner-assisted deliveries, which are great opportunities for boat owners new to ocean sailing to get their first experience on their own boat in a controlled environment with skipper and mate. See our Yacht Delivery page for details and to enquire.

The 59º North Podcast

I started the podcast in September 2013, and it's kind of taken on a life of it's own. It's a creative outlet and a way to talk to people in the sailing industry, both well-known and unknown to help inspire my own sailing goals and learn as much as I can from people who have done way more sailing than myself. The podcast is conversational, with episodes ranging from 30-90 minutes. On most Friday's I publish shorter essay episodes on various subjects I'm passionate about. Subscribe for free on iTunes. -Andy

Gear // Shop

We maintain a very small Storefront on the site, selling gear that we use and love. You'll also find our own 59º North 'Oh Dark Thirty' coffee that is roasted in small-batches and packaged just for us in Myerstown, PA at Fat Puppy Coffee Roasters. We get a small percentage of sales on all items which go directly to support the (not insubstantial) cost of maintaining this website and especially producing the podcast.

Arcturus for Sale

Arcturus for Sale

1966 Allied Seabreeze Sloop/Yawl, Hull #56

Mia and I never really thought this day would come. But just yesterday, we delivered Isbjorn to Annapolis from Connecticut, and our sailing careers officially evolved. Alas, like a good woman, my heart can't be with two boats. I only hope I can find the perfect owner for Arcturus so she can continue the adventures we started on her.

We're asking $50,000, firm - more than we paid for her, but vastly less than she's worth. Arcturus is truly greater than the sum of her parts. See below for a complete listing, plus a timeline of the work we've done to the boat and the cruising we've enjoyed. It's comprehensive, and we'll be updating this page as we think of more stuff. Contact us if you'd like more information or are serious about making a purchase. She's currently lying in Gullberg's Marina in Vasteras, Sweden, under winter cover and de-rigged (since Sept. 2014). You won't be disappointed!